This Villainous Performance Earned Its Actor the Biggest Paycheck in Hollywood History

The Big Picture

• Jack Nicholson was the highest-paid actor for a single movie for his role as Joker in 1989’s
  Batman,
  earning around $90 million.
• Nicholson’s contract included a $6 million upfront payment and a percentage of the final box office gross and profits from Joker-related merchandise.
• This deal was unprecedented at the time and remains unmatched, making Nicholson’s earnings for
  Batman
  a record-breaking achievement.

Money makes the world go round, even if it means paying an actor an absolutely obscene amount of money to show their mug on-screen. A good bit of the acting industry is made up of performers who make an average living, but most of it consists of underpaid performers who are deprived of the kind of pay that they deserve. Thankfully, we are living in a post-SAG-AFTRA-strike world, and most on-screen talent is set up to be paid a more livable wage from here on out. While those two demographics make up the greatest number of actors in the film and TV industries, there are still certain icons who get paid a monstrous sum of cash to pop up in a movie.

But who has been paid the very most to appear in one movie? Emphasis on one movie, not a franchise. That actor would be screen-legend Jack Nicholson, with the role being that of Jack Napier, also known as The Joker, in 1989’s Batman. It’s one of the most iconic superhero movies there is, so this shouldn’t be that big of a surprise. Still, in order to lock him into the picture, a pretty lucrative deal was set up between Nicholson and the studio. Essentially, he wasn’t just set up to be paid a flat sum of cash upfront. Chunks of the final box office and profits stemming from Batman merchandise were put into place so that they would land straight in the actor’s wallet. The final amount isn’t quite certain, but one thing is for sure: Jack Nicholson walked away from his experience in Batman as the highest-paid actor for a single movie.

‘Batman’ Was an Unprecedented Superhero Blockbuster

By today’s standards, Batman (fancily referred to by many as Batman ’89) isn’t the most explosive or exciting movie about the Caped Crusader that’s ever been made, but it’s still a pretty damn good one. Tim Burton built Gotham City into its most gothic form yet. Superhero movies aren’t even remotely this stylish anymore, nor are they this lively! Michael Keaton occupies the titular role of Batman but might be even better as Bruce Wayne. While Christopher Reeve might have been fantastic as Superman, it’s Keaton who first demonstrated just how different a superhero can be from their alter ego. Comic-book movie actors have chased this level of duality ever since. He’s menacing (and a bit maniacal) as Batman and is charming as Bruce — the perfect fit for the role.

But somehow, Michael Keaton doesn’t occupy the top-billing spot in this movie. The guy playing Batman isn’t the first one named in the advertised credits of Batman. Well, who in the world is it? It should surprise no one that Jack Nicholson’s name is placed first and foremost on the film’s iconic poster.

By 1989, Jack Nicholson Was One of the Biggest Movie Stars in the World

Starting with the obvious, Nicholson was already a movie icon by the time this movie came out. By the late ’80s, he had already been nominated for numerous Oscars for his work in movies like Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, The Last Detail, Chinatown, Ironweed, and more! He even won Best Actor for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, an award that will cement anyone and everyone into becoming a bonafide Hollywood star. Keaton was a reliable screen presence at the time, but there’s no way that he could be marketed as a better draw than his Clown Prince co-star. However, it wasn’t just his track record and charisma that earned Jack Nicholson the top-billing in Batman. Something else had to be afoot.

What Led Jack Nicholson to Become the Highest-Paid Actor for One Movie?

While it isn’t certain that this is what made Nicholson the face of Batman, it probably had a lot to do with it. That would be the enormous, gargantuan sum of cash that he was promised for his work. From the get-go, his initial contract for Batman promised him $6 million upfront, a financial knock by his usual terms, considering he typically got $10 million every time he signed on for a picture. However, he also requested that, if the movie was successful, he would be paid a percentage of the final gross. So basically, whatever the final box office results turned out to be, he would be handed a considerable chunk of that money on top of his $6 million signing pay. Along with all of this other cash, Nicholson was guaranteed a cut of any profits stemming from Joker-related merchandise. Batman was a marketing and merchandising juggernaut, with toys, costumes, a video game, and more being made in its wake. You can only imagine what this put in Nicholson’s wallet. Can someone sign this kind of deal for me, too?

It hasn’t been confirmed what the defined percentage of the final gross was, nor do we know exactly how much Nicholson made off of Joker-related merch. What we do know is that his total combined earnings chalked up to almost $90 million, which amounts to $194 million after adjusting for inflation. While actors like Robert Downey Jr. have been thrown boatloads of cash for various Iron Man projects, that pay was spread across a series of stand-alone films, crossover events, and supporting appearances. Drumming up a deal like this was completely unprecedented at the time! In this age of franchises and big intellectual properties running rampant throughout the movie industry, it’s not impossible to imagine somebody else coming along and striking up a similar set of circumstances. However, with the figurative “inflation ball” being in Nicholson’s court, it’s unlikely that anyone will be able to come along and dethrone him any time soon. Until then, you will not be able to find anyone who has made as much for one single role in a movie as Jack Nicholson did for Batman.

If it weren’t for Jack Nicholson’s work, Batman wouldn’t be remembered in the same way that it is today. His battles with Batman, endless list of quotes, incredible design, and more than anything, absolutely bombastic performance continue to make him one of the greatest comic book movie villains to date. You never know — that could also be motivation stemming from being promised an enormous sum of money. If I were set up to become the highest-paid actor for one movie in history, I’d probably bring home the goods too!

Batman is available to watch on Max in the U.S.

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